David Beckham’s Guild Esports To List On London Stock Market

Guild Esports, of which David Beckham is a partial investor, are looking to raise £20m by listing on the London Stock Exchange.

David Beckham has a 40% minority stake in Guild Esports.

Guild Esports will be the first organization of its kind in the UK; allowing fans to directly invest in its future. The initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange will be used to expand the organization, taking advantage of the growing surge in popularity of esports.

Guild Esports was set up in 2019. They're aiming to use the £20m to expand its talent roster by up to 20 players by the end of 2021. Guild currently have rosters in FIFA and Rocket League. As well as plans to enter Fortnite and CS:GO in the coming years.

The org is aiming to reach a valuation of £50m, according to the Financial Times, a drop from the initial target of £100m. The sharp drop is expected to be down to market volatility due to COVID, and recent discussions with investors and advisers.

“Guild will be the first esports franchise to join the London stock market,” said Carleton Curtis, executive chairman of Guild Esports.  “It will provide us with the cache, credibility and capital to fulfil our ambition to become one of the world's top 10 esports franchises within three years”.

The first round of investment will be offered up to largest investors and groups, with the second wave offered publicly. Guild is just the latest of the wide-range of business interests of the former Man United and Real Madrid man.

Lessons from Astralis Group

While Guild Esports will be the first of its kind in the UK — it won’t be the first esports organization to go public. Astralis Group (ASTGRP) has had an offering since December 2019. While initial hopes were high starting at 8.95 Danish Krone ($1.33) per share, as of October 2020 the offering sits at around 4.72 Danish Krone ($0.75).

Still, the offering has a lot of potential, with the Guild Group noting the target audience of esports as people under 35. Meaning it has a lot of crossover with people who dabble in the stock market, especially in the current stay-at-home world.